


Away From It All

by killerweasel



Series: A Fresh Start [1]
Category: The LEGO Movie (2014)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-11
Updated: 2014-05-11
Packaged: 2018-01-24 08:09:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1597742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killerweasel/pseuds/killerweasel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Benny needs a pet sitter and Bad Cop needs a vacation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Away From It All

Title: Away From It All  
Fandom: The Lego Movie  
Characters: Bad Cop, Benny, Good Cop  
Word Count: 2,678  
Rating: PG  
A/N: AU after The Lego Movie  
Warnings: n/a  
Summary: In which Benny needs a pet sitter and Bad Cop needs a vacation.

“It was nice of you to take me to breakfast, Benny.” Bad Cop hunched over his food, trying to ignore the glares from several of the other customers. He recognized a few of them as Master Builders he’d arrested under Lord Business’ orders. “Most people don’t want anything to do with me or my other half.”

“It’s their loss.” Benny stuffed a huge chunk of pancake into his mouth. “I gotta go to space this weekend.”

“Would you mind repeating that when your mouth isn’t full?”

Benny swallowed what he was chewing. “I have to go up to the lunar station this weekend to oversee some new equipment being installed. I’m the only guy still around from the original crew and none of the others know anything about the computers and stuff from the 1980s.”

“Sounds... fun.” Bad Cop finished his toast. He thought he heard someone hiss something rude at his back. “I hope it goes well.”

“I have a couple of pets and I don’t usually bring them for weekend trips. It’s too much of a hassle.” Benny frowned at someone over Bad Cop’s shoulder before focusing on his food again. “I think you could use a break from being in Bricksburg and I need a pet sitter. You don’t really have to do much, just make sure they have food and water, take Quasar for walks, and make sure Quark hasn’t gotten into too much trouble. Think of it as a well-deserved vacation. My place is out near the woods because the stars are so much easier to see away from the city lights. There aren’t any neighbors to bother you either.”

Bad Cop blinked. “You’d trust me to take care of your pets and stay in your house?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Benny looked at him with concern. “If this about what you did while you were working for Lord Business, you can just lock those thoughts away. That was then and this is now. Besides, you did help us stop him from using the Kragle on the whole world.”

“I think you should leave so the rest of us can eat in peace.”

The angry voice came from behind Bad Cop and he found himself reaching for a blaster he didn’t have. He turned in his chair. A man dressed in a panda suit was glaring at him with his arms crossed over his chest. Bad Cop had arrested him two months earlier for being a Master Builder and delivered him to Lord Business’ Think Tank.

“You’re the one disturbing everybody.” Benny got to his feet. “Look, I get why you’re angry. But we’re just trying to have a nice breakfast. So either shut up and leave us alone or go eat somewhere else.”

“Why are you defending him? You know what he did!” Panda Guy’s hands clenched into fists as he started to walk over to where Bad Cop was sitting.

Bad Cop threw money down on the table before standing up. “Benny, I’ve lost my appetite.” Normally, he would have put up a fight, but he didn’t have the energy and knew it would make an already bad situation worse. “I’ll meet you in the car.”

He walked out without looking behind him to see if people were glad he was gone. Bad Cop sat down in the passenger seat. He slipped his sunglasses off and rubbed a shaking hand over his face. “That could have gone better.”

 _Does this mean we’re taking the pet sitting job? Benny stood up for us in there._ Good Cop’s voice still sounded weak. It had been two weeks since Lord Business had wiped him away and he still hadn’t fully recovered.

“You think we should?”

_Yes, I do. If it goes okay, maybe we could see if he wants a roommate for a while. Bricksburg isn’t exactly a friendly place for us right now._

The driver’s side door opened, cutting off whatever Bad Cop was going to say. He gave Benny a small smile. “I’m sorry about that, Benny.”

“It isn’t your fault. Well, it kinda is, but you didn’t try and start a fight with people who were eating. That guy was just rude.”

“About the pet sitting thing... I’ll do it.” Bad Cop slipped his sunglasses back on. “When would you like me to show up?”

“Really?” Benny’s smile was blinding. “I’ve got to be out the door Friday night. If you come around four on Friday, we could have dinner together first. Then I can show you around and introduce you to Quasar and Quark before I leave.”

“I’ll be there.”

\---

 

Bad Cop was bit surprised when he saw Benny’s house was just a house and not some sort of space-related thing. He felt a little flutter of nervousness as he pulled into the driveway. What if the animals didn’t like him? What if he somehow managed to accidentally burn Benny’s house down? What if Benny decided this wasn’t a good idea and asked him to leave?

_You’re not going to burn the house down. You’ve always been good at making sure things were turned off when you finished using them. Benny likes you. He’s not just going to tell you to leave. As far as the animals go, we both know you’re a big old softly when it comes to pets. They’re going to give you those eyes and you’ll cave like a piece of wet tissue._

 

“If you’re feeling up to it, you should come out during dinner. He’d probably like to see you too.”

_Maybe. People look at me funny because of my face._

“I did the best I could with what I had.” Bad Cop tightened his hands on the steering wheel. “We could always go see the doctor Emmet mentioned. The one he said helped his friend after that accident with the crane. She might be able to get you back the way you were.”

_I’ll think about it. You should get moving. He’s going to start thinking something’s wrong if you stay in the car._

Bad Cop took a deep breath before getting out of the car. He grabbed his bag, which contained clothing, toiletries, and a couple of books he’d been meaning to read, and headed for the door. He had raised his hand to knock when the door was yanked open.

“Hey, Bad Cop. I’m just getting ready to fire up the grill.” Benny grinned at him, stepping back so he could come into the house. “Do you want the tour before or after we eat?”

“Before?” He shifted his bag to his other hand. “What are you making for dinner?”

“I’ve got steak, corn on the cob, and biscuits.” Benny stomach rumbled. “Does that sound okay?”

“It sounds fantastic.” Bad Cop couldn’t remember the last time he’d had home-cooked meal. He tended to live on fast food or go to restaurants.

“Great.” Benny closed the front door. “Bedrooms are upstairs. We’ll go there first so you can put your bag down.”

When they reached the bottom of the staircase, Benny whistled. There was a bark followed by paws on wooden steps. “You’re going to want to step back. Quasar gets a bit excited when we have guests.”

A large red dog came bounding down the steps, tail wagging frantically. He skidded to a stop by Bad Cop’s feet. Quasar sat down and held out a paw, which Bad Cop shook. Then the dog was off again, running toward the other end of the house.

_You do know you have a goofy little smile on your face, right?_

Bad Cop coughed. "Seems like a good dog."

"Quasar's awesome. He knows all kinds of tricks. I'll have to show you later." Benny started up the stairs with Bad Cop a few steps behind. "Did you have any trouble finding the place?"

"You gave me excellent directions." When Bad Cop reached the top of the stairs, he looked at some of the pictures decorating the wall. One of them was a very young version of Benny with his parents. Another showed Benny standing in front of a spaceship holding a sign that read 'Moon or Bust'.

"Bad Cop?"

Bad Cop felt his cheeks flush. "Sorry, I was just looking at the pictures."

"This used to be my parents' house. When they moved to someplace warmer, I pretty much left most of it the way it was." Benny stopped outside of a door. "This is the guest room. The bathroom's across the hall."

The room was nicer than Bad Cop's apartment. He set his bag down on the bed. He went over to the window and peered outside. Bad Cop could see a small lake. Behind that was the start of a forest. Everything looked rather peaceful.

"Just wait until the sun sets. The stars are absolutely gorgeous out here." Benny patted Bad Cop on the shoulder. "Come on, I'll show you the rest of the house. Then we can start the food."

\---

"You have to try the biscuits with this honey. A friend of mine is a beekeeper and he's done all kinds of neat things to produce the best flavor." Benny smothered his biscuit with the honey and took a bite. The sound that came from his mouth was almost obscene. "It's so good."

Bad Cop copied Benny's action and then cautiously took a bite. It was probably the best food he'd eaten in ages. "Oh, this is fantastic."

By the time they were done eating, both of them had loosened their belts before sitting back. Benny rubbed a hand over his stomach. "As much as I love space, the food down here is so much better. I always try to eat something delicious before I go up."

"I'm not sure I can move right now." Bad Cop stared out over the lake at the woods. He could see deer starting to come out of the trees.

_Mind if I come out?_

"I'm going to switch over to Good Cop for a bit." Bad Cop closed his eyes and switched.

"Hey, buddy." Good Cop grinned at Benny. "Thanks for asking us to watch your pets. We really needed to get away from everything for a while."

"How are you doing? I haven't seen much of you since Taco Tuesday."

Good Cop shrugged. "Better than I was? This new face took a little getting used to."

"Hopefully you guys will be able to relax out here." Benny glanced at his watch. "Darn. I need to get ready to leave. You want to help me with my spaceship?"

"Really?" Good Cop stood up. "I'd love to." He heard Bad Cop chuckle in the back of his mind. " I mean, I've never really done much building where the directions were ignored."

"Always wondered if you were a Master Builder." Benny stretched as he got to his feet, groaning a little when his back popped. "Half the Master Builders I know are self-taught. I've got a ton of bricks out in the garage if you guys want to give it a shot."

"I might just take you up on that."

\---

Bad Cop woke to something furry rubbing across his face. He glanced over at the clock. It wasn’t even four in the morning. “As much as I would love to play with you, Quark, I need at least another three hours of sleep to function properly.” Bad Cop patted the mattress beside his chest. “Why don’t you curl up and go to sleep like a nice kitty?”

Quark let out a grouchy ‘maow’ and then jumped up onto Bad Cop’s chest. He grunted under the cat’s weight. It was amazing how such a small thing could feel like an elephant when it was standing on his ribs. Quark then proceeded to make biscuits. Bad Cop muttered under his breath as the sharp tips of her claws pierced through the sheet, Bad Cop’s pajamas, and into his skin.

Finally, the cat curled up into a ball and began to purr. The noise was soothing and Bad Cop soon found himself beginning to drift off again. He reached out, stroking the grey cat on the head. “That’s a good kitty.”

\---

 

In the morning, Bad Cop got up, took a shower, got dressed, and took Quasar for a walk. The dog kept bringing him sticks to throw. Bad Cop held the drool-splattered stick in his hand. He looked down “You ready?” Quasar did a play bow with his butt in the air and his red tail wagging furiously. Bad Cop threw the stick as far as he could. The dog barked happily, taking off after it.

_It's really nice out here. So peaceful compared to the city._

"I swear being in all this fresh air yesterday is why we ended up going to bed a couple hours earlier than normal." He leaned against a tree as he waited for the dog to come back. "This really is what we needed."

_When was the last time we had a vacation? It had to be almost a decade ago._

"It would have been before Lord Business created the Secret Police. Once we were put in charge of that, free time and relaxation disappeared." He sighed.

_Quasar's back._

"Who's a good boy?" Bad Cop reached out, grabbing one end of the stick. He gave it a tug, causing the dog to pull it backward. They had a bit of a tug of war before Bad Cop finally let him have the stick. "Come on, boy, time to go back to the house."

_I don't know if we should be police officers anymore._

"No one trusts us. Well, no one other than Benny. I think the others just tolerate us for his sake. We can't do our job if the citizens feel threatened by us merely being near them." Bad Cop kicked a rock, sending it down the path. "I suppose we could retire." He winced when he thought about how people might celebrate that.

_Would you want us to still be Good Cop and Bad Cop?_

Bad Cop blinked. "I suppose we could go back to who we were before we graduated the academy. Thomas for me and Tommy for you."

_We'll think about it, make sure this is really what we want to do._

"Agreed."

\---

Bad Cop was sprawled on a blanket in the backyard looking up at the stars. Benny was right, he could see so many more of them now that he was away from all the city lights. "It's beautiful."

"Isn't it?" Benny stepped into view. "I'm back. Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all." Bad Cop shifted over on the blanket to make room for Benny. "Everything go okay on the moon?"

"Yeah, just your standard new equipment stuff." Benny pointed at the sky. "That's the Big Dipper. And over there, you can see Orion. You can always find it by those stars that make up his belt."

As Benny continued to speak, Bad Cop found himself caught up in the stories and legends which went with the various constellations. He waited until Benny had come to a stopping point before clearing his throat.

"I just wanted to thank you for letting us do this, Benny. We haven't been able to relax in a very long time."

_Are you going to ask him? Or would you rather I did it?_

Bad Cop sat up. "We were wondering if we could... maybe stay a bit longer? If that's okay with you. If you're busy or whatever, then we could see if there's a hotel or a place to rent. We need time to figure some things out, away from the city."

"I could use the company. It would be nice to talk to someone other than Quark and Quasar for a change." Benny smiled. "You can stay as long as you need, provided you chip in for groceries."

"Thanks, Benny." He sank back down on the blanket. "So what's the story about Canis Major?"

"That's actually tied into the tale of Orion. You see..."


End file.
